Middleboro Residents Say Smell From Recycling Center Is Making Them Sick

MIDDLEBORO (CBS) - People in Middleboro say a nearby recycling center smells so bad they're getting sick in their own yards.

So many people complained about the stench from A-Plus Waste and Recycling the state actually pulled one of the center's key permits a few months ago.

The problem isn't getting better. So now, the town's getting involved.

For years, it was a brickyard. But in 2008, new owners turned the property into a recycling enter. In 2012, they started taking in organic material for composting. Then came the stench.

"The odor itself is enough to knock you over," resident Jamie Meserve said. "I have literally gotten sick on my front lawn. My kids have gagged waiting for the school bus."

Some of the residents in the rural part of Middleboro started complaining, first to the town, then the state.

"We really started complaining and it still took a year for the DEP to even address the odor issue," said resident Samantha Turgeon.

But the owner was doing things by the book according to two sources in the town of Middleboro. Still, on some days, the stench was overpowering to some residents.

"It's rotting food," Meserve said. "It's waste from the grocery stores, it's waste from school cafeterias."

Some neighbors say the problem is that the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection was dragging its feet on the issue for months.

Just last month, the DEP shut down the composting operation. The owner was not available to talk with WBZ on Monday.